Ours
by raccoonsmate4life
Summary: Their lives are so seamlessly intertwined and he's never taken the time to really notice it until right now. He is overcome with a sudden desire to make it official, to make it so that there is less his and hers, and more ours and theirs. Pre-7x14 (Come Back) speculation.


_just a little fluffy speculation fic of Deeks asking Kensi to move in with him. pre-7x14 (Come Back)_

 _As always, I own nothing_

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The first thing Deeks is aware of as he comes out of his slumber is the softened light of the sun as it filters through the shades on his bedroom window. The second thing is the comforting weight of his girlfriend's arm, draped low across his abdomen and her warm breath landing on the skin of his shoulder as her head rests on the edge of her pillow. He smiles and tilts his head towards her. Over a year of waking up next to her almost every morning and it's still something that makes his heart skip a beat. He figures one day it may be something that doesn't give him pause, but today is not that day.

The slow, shallow rhythm of Kensi's breathing tells him that she's still in a deep sleep, so he takes a minute to really look at her. He loves these moments, when he's allowed to soak in everything about her without her getting fidgety and self-conscious at the unabashed attention. His eyes drift over her features and he holds back from reaching out to tuck her hair behind her ear or stroke the soft skin of her arm – she always crashes hard after their long weeks at work and he doesn't want to wake her. Something flutters deep inside him when he thinks about how lucky he is to see this vulnerable, peaceful – and still beautiful – side of her.

The sound of Monty bustling around the kitchen draws Deeks from his trance and he decides to make his way down there before the mutt comes bounding upstairs and disturbs Kensi. Carefully, he lifts her arm off his body and rolls himself to sitting, letting her hand rest over the warmth of his vacated side of the bed. He pulls a pair of sweatpants on and grabs a t-shirt as he pads out of the room and down the stairs.

"Hey buddy," he mumbles as he walks into the kitchen and is greeted by the sight of his dog almost glaring at him from his position by the back door.

Monty huffs in response and stares longingly into the backyard – he's always a bit grumpy when his humans sleep in on the weekends. He stands at attention the instant Deeks reaches to open the door and scampers outside just as soon as the door is opened wide enough for him.

Deeks busies himself with making coffee and filling Monty's food and water bowls while trying to figure out what Kensi might want for breakfast this morning. When he opens the cabinet to grab a couple of coffee mugs, his eye catches on one sitting near the back. It's one of Kensi's (as are almost half of the ones sitting on the shelf) and to anyone who doesn't get to know her like he does, it seems like a very anti-Kensi sort of mug. Shifting others out of the way, he pulls out the pale pink mug, with its darker pink heart on one side and a quote from one of her girly movies printed on the other side – _Love actually is all around_.

That's something that's certainly been true for the past year, Deeks thinks to himself as he smiles and places the mug on the counter. He's not sure he ever could have dreamed that the woman who started out as his too-serious partner, all sharp edges and hard attitude, would be the same woman he's head over heels for and who has a soft spot for holding his hand and telling him she loves him every night before she drifts of to sleep.

Reaching back into the cabinet, he pulls out a mug for himself – a blue one with a surfer painted on it and "You're Swell" printed underneath the wave – a birthday gift from his enigma of a girlfriend. Then his eyes travel over to the back door, to the dog dishes he just filled – ones that Kensi picked out for Monty – and then into the living room where he can see her jacket thrown over the arm of the couch and he knows her boots are propped next to his on the floor, while the last few issues of Cosmo lie amongst his own magazines on the coffee table and her favorite movies are mixed in with his on the shelf next to the TV.

Deeks' smile grows wider. Their lives are so seamlessly intertwined – she has her own sink in the bathroom, her half of the bedroom closet, her side of the bed and all of her things on the nightstand – and he's never taken the time to really notice it until right now. He is overcome with a sudden desire to make it official, to make it so that there is less _his_ and _hers_ , and more _ours_ and _theirs_.

He wants Kensi, and her stuff, and her love, around him all the time. He has been itching to ask her to move in with him for a while, but with the Internal Affairs investigation hanging over them – and then coming to a head a couple of months ago – he couldn't ask her. He couldn't move them forward knowing what he was hiding from her and fearing that she would leave whenever she found out the truth.

Then…she did find out, all on her own, and she stayed. She understood him and forgave him. She showed him more support and loyalty than he thinks he deserves. Even after that, he thought they might need more time, that she might need more time – to recover, to heal, to answer lingering questions. If he's being completely honest, he thought she just needed more time to realize that she wanted out.

But, she's still here and he thinks he's never loved her more. "Time's up," he whispers to himself as he heads back upstairs.

Kensi is still asleep, still in the same position he left her in a little bit ago, but he doesn't care anymore if he wakes her up. In fact, he needs her to wake up, and the sooner the better.

Deeks opens the drawer to his nightstand and takes out a small envelope before he slides between the sheets, facing her as he settles on his side. Propping himself on an elbow, he scoots closer to her and presses a soft kiss to her forehead as she lets out a contented sigh. Trailing his lips down to her cheek and then across her bare shoulder, he smiles when she begins to stir.

"Morning, Sunshine."

She lets out a short grunt. "Why're you waking me up?" She mumbles into the pillow, her voice rough with sleep.

"I want to give you something." He nudges her foot with his under the comforter.

Kensi opens her eyes just barely. She's scowling, but even with the fog of sleep still clearing, her eyes are twinkling at the prospect of a gift. "It couldn't wait?" She sounds more awake now and Deeks hears the teasing tone in her question.

"Nope." He pulls the envelope out from under the pillow and holds it up between them.

She sits up, pulling the comforter over her legs, and snatches the offering from his hands. If she notices the hint of nervousness in his gaze or the almost-imperceptible shaking of his hand, she doesn't say anything. Deeks holds his breath as she turns it over and a small, shiny key slides out and into the palm of her hand.

Kensi cocks her head to the side, examining the key briefly, before looking down to him, confusion clear on her face. "Is this a key to your house? I already have one…"

"It's a key to this house, yes…" Deeks nods and moves to sit up as well, mirroring her cross-legged position, "…but think of this as a key to _our_ house." He's careful to really emphasize the part of his response that makes this key different from the other one she has.

It works, and he watches realization wash over her and any nerves he had about this being the right time are immediately squashed as that perfect, broad smile he loves beams back at him.

Before he can say anything else, Kensi leans forward and just before her lips touch his, her answer fills the air between them. "Finally."


End file.
